WORLD

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | Former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. “I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise,” Obama tweeted. He also wrote that he and his wife, Michelle, “are grateful to be vaccinated and …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Near half of Russia’s roughly 640 billion U.S. dollars of gold and foreign currency reserves has been frozen, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Sunday. Siluanov said on a Russian TV program that Russia will pay roubles to its debt holders. He said that the …

Shanghai on Saturday required citizens not to leave the city if not necessary and those who do must hold a certificate for a negative nucleic acid test results taken 48 hours before departure. Beijing, China | Xinhua | China is taking strict and swift measures to stem new COVID-19 infections …

  COMMENT | HELEN CLARK & DR TEDROS ADHAMON GHEBREYESUS |  As societies, we are failing to protect children and families from the marketing of products that undermine their health and development. One of the most egregious examples of this is the aggressive promotion of commercial milk formula for babies …

Moscow, Russia |  Xinhua |  Russia will publish individual sanctions against the West in the near future, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday. “The lists are ready,” Ryabkov said on Russian broadcaster Channel One, adding that the sanctions will be made public soon. According to Ryabkov, Moscow sees …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduced the risk of Omicron infection among children aged 5 to 15, according to a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday. Children and adolescents aged 5 to 15 were tested for …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for a ceasefire in Syria in a statement marking 11 years of “brutal fighting” in the conflict-torn nation. “We cannot fail the Syrian people. The conflict must cease. International humanitarian law must be respected,” said the UN chief. “I …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. government will revoke Russia’s most-favored nation trade status amid the Ukraine crisis, the White House said Friday, noting that it will work with Group of Seven (G7) countries and the European Union to roll out new sanctions. U.S. President Joe Biden and the other …

Iran is fully prepared to supply whatever the market wants from Iran’s oil Tehran, Iran | Xinhua | The head of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said Friday that Iran is ready to supply required oil for the world market and stabilize the prices, official news agency IRNA reported. The Iranian …

Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russia’s telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor said Friday that it will limit the access to U.S. social network Instagram in Russia, as was required by the Prosecutor General’s Office. Instagram distributes materials which call for committing violent acts against Russian citizens, including military personnel, Roskomnadzor said in a …